Latest Articles

‘Groups’ Underpin Modern Math. Here’s How They Work.

September 6, 2024

What do the integers have in common with the symmetries of a triangle? In the 19th century, mathematicians invented groups as an answer to this question.

The First Nuclear Clock Will Test if Fundamental Constants Change

September 4, 2024

An ultra-precise measurement of a transition in the hearts of thorium atoms gives physicists a tool to probe the forces that bind the universe.

How the Higgs Field (Actually) Gives Mass to Elementary Particles

September 3, 2024

In this article adapted from his new book, "Waves in an Impossible Sea," physicist Matt Strassler explains that the origin of mass in the universe has a lot to do with music.

Q&A

Perplexing the Web, One Probability Puzzle at a Time

August 29, 2024

The mathematician Daniel Litt has driven social media users to distraction with a series of simple-seeming but counterintuitive probability puzzles.

Do We Need a New Theory of Gravity?

August 29, 2024

Since Newton had his initial revelation about gravity, our understanding of this fundamental concept has evolved in unexpected ways. In this week’s episode, theoretical physicist Claudia de Rham and co-host Janna Levin discuss the ways our current understanding of gravity needs to continue to evolve.

Computer Scientists Prove That Heat Destroys Quantum Entanglement

August 28, 2024

While devising a new quantum algorithm, four researchers accidentally established a hard limit on entanglement.

How Our Longest Nerve Orchestrates the Mind-Body Connection

August 26, 2024

Like a highway system, the vagus nerve branches profusely from your brain through your organs to marshal bodily functions, including aspects of mind such as mood, pleasure and fear.

How Colorful Ribbon Diagrams Became the Face of Proteins

August 23, 2024

Proteins are often visualized as cascades of curled ribbons and twisted strings, which both reveal and conceal the mess of atoms that make up these impossibly complex molecules.

Mathematicians Prove Hawking Wrong About the Most Extreme Black Holes

August 21, 2024

For decades, extremal black holes were considered mathematically impossible. A new proof reveals otherwise.

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